Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel (D) is a former US Senator from Alaska. He has announced that he is running for United States President in 2008. oCkgFr7CACY "Eisenhower's Warning" Political Positions * Wants an immediate withdrawl from Iraq followed by aggressive diplomacy. * Wants to end the War on Drugs by legalizing cannabis, legalizing the regulation of hard drugs, and treating drug abuse as a public health problem instead of a law enforcement problem. * Supports the National Initiative legislation for direct democracy at the federal level. * Supports the implementation of the FairTax, a national retail sales tax that will replace the income tax. * Supports a Carbon tax to deal with the problem of Global Warming. * Wants to implement a universal healthcare system that maintains competition between private businesses by using vouchers. * Suppports gun ownership, but advocates a licensing program that requires potential gun owners to be trained in the use of firearms. * Fully supports a woman's right to abortion. * Supports same-sex marriage. BDQ6YuqNsmA Mike Gravel on CNN - Talking about Iraq Senate Career Mike Gravel was an Alaskan Senator fom 1969-1981. During his time in office, he made several noteworthy achievements. In 1971, he began a one-man filibuster against the renewal of the military draft. Gravel preventged the legislation from being passed for five months until Richard Nixon agreed to let the draft expire in 1973. Also in 1971, he played a key role in getting the Pentagon Papers released by reading 4,100 pages of them into the Congressional Record of his of Senate Subcommittee on Buildings and Grounds. Gravel speaks candidly about his role in releasing the papers in this video. In 1973, Gravel created an amendment that empowered Congress to make the policy decision about the construction of the Alaska Oil Pipeline. The amendment was opposed at first, but Gravel built support for it and got it passed in the Senate by a single vote. The pipeline has since been responsible for 20% of the U.S. oil supply. Mike Gravel in the News * Mike Gravel on "This Week" - July 8, 2007 * Mike Gravel's big splash? by Kerry Eleveld, Advocate.com, July 3, 2007 * Mike Gravel: End the War on Drugs by C.M. Paulson, Associated Content, June 29, 2007 * Taking Mike Gravel Seriously by Matt Hutaff, June 26, 2007 * Time Is Right for New Pentagon Papers by Amy Goodman, June 26, 2007 * 2008 Candidate Gravel Counting On Change In Polls - with video Latest editorial by Mike Gravel * Why Hillary Scares Me by Senator Mike Gravel; The Huffington Post, Posted June 25, 2007 See also * Mike Gravel Forum - Join in the discussion! * Chat about Mike Gravel External links * Campaign Site * Biographical Directory of the United States Congress * Source Watch's article on Mike Gravel *Gravel Blogspot *Students for Gravel *Official Myspace * National Initiative for Democracy (Founded by Mike Gravel) ;Wikipedia * Gravel v. United States * Political positions of Mike Gravel * Mike Gravel presidential campaign, 2008 ;YouTube * The official Youtube Channel for Mike Gravel G Gravel, Mike Category:Mike Gravel Category:Pro-choice politicians Gravel, Mike